Toomer divides this poem into halves with the first dedicated to describing the scene with reapers. This first seen is quiet as the only sound described is the swishing of the scythes. The second half is examining a new field where a mower is pulled by a team of horses. This scene is much more chaotic as most of it is describing an unaware field rat who is killed by the unfeeling and unstopping machine.
Excerpt:
Black horses drive a mower through the weeds,
And there, a field rat, startled, squealing bleeds.
His belly close to ground. I see the blade,
Blood-stained, continue cutting weeds and shade.